Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2014, 12:132
doi:10.1186/s12955-014-0132-1

Published: 30 August 2014

Abstract

Background

Despite an increasing number of studies examining the profile of falls and mobility
decline in adults with cerebral palsy (CP), little is known about its impact on an
individual’s life quality. The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the wellbeing
and health status aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in ambulant adults
with CP and explore the relationship of falls and mobility decline with HRQOL.

Results

Thirty-four community-dwelling ambulant adults with CP with a mean age of 44.2 years
(SD; 8.6; range 26–65) participated. Twenty-eight (82%) participants reported mobility
decline since reaching adulthood, and a similar proportion of individuals (82%) reported
having had more than two falls in the previous year. The health status and wellbeing
of this sample of ambulant adults with CP were generally lower compared with the Australian
normative population. Mobility decline was found by univariate regression analysis
to be associated with mental health status (β = 0.52; p = 0.002), but not when other predictor variables were included in the multivariate
model (β = 0.27; p = 0.072). In contrast, self-reported history of falls was found to be a significant
contributing factor for both physical health status (β = −0.55; p = 0.002) and personal wellbeing (β = −0.43; p = 0.006).

Conclusions

This sample of ambulant adults with CP perceived their HRQOL to be poor, with some
health status and wellbeing domains below that of population wide comparisons. A majority
of these individuals also experienced a fall in the last year and a decline in their
mobility since reaching adulthood. While further research is required, this preliminary
study has highlighted the potential implications of falls and mobility decline on
HRQOL in adults with CP.